Spectrum Efficient UAV Communication System (SEUAVCS)

Shared Spectrum Company (SSC), The University of North Dakota, and the Northern Plains UAS Test Site propose to develop the Spectrum Efficient UAV Communication System (SEUAVCS). A critical requirement for eVTOL/UAM missions is the availability of spectrum to support command/control and payload communications. Timely spectrum access is needed for disaster response, humanitarian aid, and logistics missions where rapid response is critical and there is minimal in situ technical support for frequency coordination. SEUAVCS focuses on the 960-1164 MHz and 5030-5091 MHz bands which are allocated for aeronautical use.   SEUAVCS is based on SSC’s Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) technology that uses local spectrum sensing and geospatial databases to select operating frequencies. SEUAVCS is a complete solution. SEUAVCS consists of DSA radio software and command & control software (to create and distribute spectrum access policies to the radios). This approach enables SEUAVCS to support a combination of traditional command & control and full DSA spectrum access approaches. SEUAVCS can support operations in contested and congested environments, which is critical for Air Force operations. SEUAVCS’ ability to support both commercial and DoD focused spectrum access methods is critical to DoD UAV operations. This flexible automated, distributed spectrum sharing architecture provides a balance of assured spectrum access, timely spectrum access and spectrum efficiency for all conditions. SSC’s prototype DSA radio is ideal for flight testing because of its wide tuning range and the ability to support multiple waveform types. SSC will make SEUAVCS software to third party radios to enable broad transition.    The University of North Dakota (UND) Research Institute for Autonomous Systems (RIAS) is a global leader in unmanned and autonomous systems research, application and policy development.   RIAS has a well-articulated plan, expertise across a broad set of disciplines, and an organized, committed team focused on the challenge of providing autonomous technologies and policies that serve society.   The Northern Plains (NP) UAS Test Site (TS) is a leading UAS test site. The NP UAS TS is committed to working closely with the FAA and the UAS community to further UAS NAS Integration efforts. All NP UAS TS research projects will be, at the maximum extent possible, mapped to goals and objectives outlined by the FAA, JPDO, ASTM, RTCA, and other UAS community organizations.   The Phase I project produces seven reports: (1) Air Force Customer Analysis, (2) SEUAVCS Benefit Quantification, (3) SEUAVCS Flight Test Planning and Objectives, (4) Transition Stakeholder Analysis, (5) Air Force Specific SEUAVCS Requirements, (6) SEUAVCS Ecosystem Integration and (7) DoD and Government Customer Analysis. These studies include the development of spectrum sharing rules (geolocation and sensing based) for these bands that are developed based on the legacy system characteristics.